Fates Intertwined
by BrutallyRomantic
Summary: Fate can have a twisted sense of humor. What started as a jesting conversation between reluctant acquaintances turns into something that might be more. However, will the choice of one doom the other to a life of misery?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

A/N: This fic is based off of a roleplay that a friend and I have going on twitter. If you'd like to check it out, go follow OnlyaSwan and _TheEvilQueen

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

Even in the daylight, the mausoleum gave off an air of mystery, of presence. The marble pillars rose up to support the roof on which an intricate tree was etched. The cemetery surrounding was still and silent, only adding to the unreality of the area. And of the situation for that matter.

Emma couldn't help it, she had never been particularly close to Regina, more due to who they were 'supposed' to be and less because of actual personality clashes, though those also existed in numbers. However, rather than any small fight, the blonde had somehow gotten herself into something that almost made her wish for a simple argument. She had been speaking with Regina, actually speaking like a normal person, and even teasing a bit. Without intending to, Emma might have confessed that she found Regina attractive, or that she like the woman's smile at least.

If she had been drinking, Emma might have been able to blame the alcohol for her loose tongue but there was no easy out in this instance.

Perhaps it was the unexpected almost friendliness of the encounter, or maybe subconsciously she had wanted the brunette to figure her out. Either way, Regina had gotten Emma to admit to wanting to make her smile.

It would have been even more embarrassing if she hadn't actually wanted that so badly.

As Emma had pressed, trying to find out what she could do to make the brunette smile, Regina had made a confession of her own. As if it were a normal thing, the woman had said she wanted a vampire as a pet. Not just any vampire either but the queen of them all. Lilith.

Emma had insisted on coming with Regina, despite the other woman's protestations. Now, after Regina had transported the two of them down into her vault, Emma watched her rummage through her things.

The blonde couldn't help but to take advantage of Regina's distracted searching to look at the multitudes of items everywhere. The dim lighting was hardly conducive to an efficient search, leading Regina to stare severely at a wall sconce and light it with a flick of her fingers. "There', she muttered, though swaying just slightly from the stress of not having used magic in so long. Emma saw as Regina almost stumbled and took a step towards her, stretching out a hand to touch her shoulder.

"You okay?" Regina brushed off both Emma's touch and her concern, gesturing to a pile of books across the room.

"I'm fine, Miss Swan. Want to make yourself useful and start looking?" It was clearly more of a demand than a question, resulting in an eye roll from the blonde even as she walked the few steps to the books propped up neatly on a table.

"Want to tell me what I'm looking for exactly?", asked Emma as she started sorting through the numerous probably dangerous items on the small table.

"Well, Miss Swan", drawled Regina, pausing for a moment as she read the title of yet another tome, "You are familiar with what a book looks like, yes?" The brunette didn't look up, but if she had she would have seen the scowl marring Emma's face as she continued poking through books.

"Ask a stupid question.."

"Shut. Up. Until we find what I'm looking for, not another word. You take this room and I'll take the other."

Emma would have protested were it not for the fact that she was sort of trapped underground with someone who had infinitely more control and knowledge of magic than herself. As it was, the blonde had to content herself with growling under her breath as she scanned each book title for anything even remotely related to vampires.

Regina retreated to another room only to find the rest of the area is still cloaked in darkness. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and put all of her focus on lighting the torches on the walls, a task she once was able to accomplish so easily. There was a flicker, then a whoosh, and the entire hallway lined with closed doors was lit. Opening her eyes, however, Regina felt the room spinning. Everything began to go dark and then she fell to the floor with a heavy thud, the muffled sound of still beating hearts carrying her off into the unconscious.

The muffled thump of something heavy falling to the ground didn't quite catch Emma's attention at first, but a prickling in the back of her neck had her calling for the other woman despite her almost-command to stay quiet.

"Regina?" After a moment's pause with no answer, not even a snarky grunt, Emma shuffled her way out of the great heaps of things that managed to surround and poked her head into the hallway of drawers. For second, everything seemed alright, until she noticed the huddled mass on the ground and correctly identified it. Rushing to the woman's side, Emma tried to keep her panic tamped down as she checked for breathing and tried to shake the unconscious woman into consciousness once more.

"Regina!"

The thud of her head hitting the stone had knocked her out just up until she felt Emma shaking her body, eliciting a groan coupled with a throbbing ache in her head.

"What..what the hell?", muttered Regina, though the usual bite is gone from her tone. Trying to sit up, Regina winced in the process, bringing a hand up to her head where she felt the ache most keenly. "Miss..Miss Swan, what on earth do you think you're doing?!"

Though she had stopped shaking the woman when she spoke, Emma didn't let go of her shoulders as she echoed Regina's words incredulously.

"What the hell..what the hell?! You passed out! Why?"

After making a halfassed attempt at shrugging Emma off, Regina has to stop, much too weak to exert much more effort than a small roll of her shoulders.

"It's the magic," she rasped. Her throat was dry, heading aching and with each throb her eyes closed and it became that much harder to fight the urge to hiss from pain. "I'm fine, you can leave me go now. I just..I need a minute."

Ignoring the royal's attempts at shooing her away, Emma shifted to better help as much as Regina would allow, a scowl forming a line on her forehead that screamed worry.

"So you collapse from a little magic and we're going after a big bad vampire?"

"I told you," huffed the woman, brushing the front of her attire off once she's managed to stand up though she remained dizzy with a pounding head. "I am /fine/. Besides, you're free to leave if it concerns you this much. I'm sure I'll be able to manage on my own."

Rolling her eyes at the brusque brushoff, Emma didn't pursue an argument, pointing back into the room she came from. "Whatever, I think I found some books right before you fell."

"Bring them to me", demanded the former Queen, doing her very best to hide her panting and the light sweat she'd broken out into. Three steps backwards and Regina's back hit the wall, the thumping of the hearts becoming so loud it was almost unbearable. "And hurry."

Emma knew for a fact that Regina was not fine, but making her admit it seemed like quite a feat. Her mind raced as she turned back to the room, sneaking a look back at Regina before entering. If this sort of magic was so difficult.. But couldn't she help? Bringing the books that she thought might be it, Emma could feel the slight excited rush of adrenalin pricking at the edges of her brain.

"Don't I have magic too? Couldn't I help so you're not all.." Emma refrained from choosing a word and instead gestured to where Regina was leaning against the wall.

Regina couldn't help but laugh at the notion that the blonde wanted to help, let alone use her magic to do such a thing. "The success of your magic has been nothing but an absolute fluke, Miss Swan. Not to mention, magic is unpredictable here. If you don't know how to use yours by now, might I suggest a world /with/ magic to make an attempt in." By the end of her little rant, Regina was panting once more, knees giving out just a bit causing her to slouch against the wall. "Here, let me see those."

Accepting the books from Emma, the brunette ran her fingers along the leather binding before opening them. Immediately her eyes lit up at the old, foreign tongue that the first held inside.

"This is it."

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me. 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

"_This is it."_

Discouraged by the slight tongue lashing, Emma sighed and leaned back against the wall beside Regina, only to jump away when she finally noticed the beating. "Whoa, wha-?" Looking from you, to the drawers, then back at you again, Emma spoke slowly and cautiously, "Are those.."

Scanning the pages, Regina had been trying to familiarize herself with the foreign tongue once more, rolling the syllables around in a quiet whisper right up until Emma jolted beside her.

"Are they…what?" It took a minute before Regina finally realized what the blonde had been referring to. "I tried to tell you I'm the monster they all make me out to be," offered Regina simply along with a shrug.

Emma hadn't really thought so, but the beating wall of hearts was unnerving. "Have you found where we need to go yet?" she inquired as she let her eyes wander over the uncounted hundreds of artifacts. When in doubt, change the subject.

" I told you when we started this, /Emma/, that this is a blind search. /This/-," Regina huffed as she shoved the first book toward Emma, "-is their language. This is their history." She plopped a second book on top, "And this is their characteristics, their tendencies, based on their class. This is all I have to go on."

Taking the books one by one as Regina piled them into her arms, Emma huffed for the second time in as many minutes and sat on the floor, setting all but one book aside. Emma knew this was just to make a point, to make her feel superfluous. It was working, but she was too stubborn to admit it without at least trying. Flipping through the pages, Emma noted that the language was nothing she had ever seen before, so she looked back up at Regina with a shrug.

"I have no idea what this means."

Though Regina answered with a roll of her eyes, she nonetheless slid down the wall to sit beside the blonde. "It's in their language." Clearing her throat first, Regina proceeded to put her pointer finger beneath the first sentence, slowly spitting out a language that even sounded a bit ominous. Dark. Evil.

Following Regina's finger with her gaze, Emma couldn't help but shiver with every chill inducing word. Shifting so she could see Regina a little better, eyes falling naturally to her lips as they form the dark words.

"Can you really understand that?" Emma asked incredulously, amazed how smoothly the other woman had been able to bend the words to her will.

"Vaguely. I suppose it would take many years to master such a language, but it's the only language they speak. I've come to understand they comprehend English, but... ," Regina trailed off with a small shrug. "I didn't want to take any chances at not being understood. Filled up my free time while I was away", Regina admitted quietly with a tiny but soft smile.

"That's pretty impressive," Emma answered while tearing her eyes from the way Regina's lips were moving, turning to examine the book again. "I mean, I barely made it through Spanish in school."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me... but I suggest you don't express too much interest. The last thing I need is Snow White accusing me of bewitching her daughter into practicing the dark arts."

Laughing aloud at the imagery, Emma shook her head and smoothed out the book pages. "Don't worry, I won't let her get you." Though the tone is clearly a teasing one, Emma hoped that Regina knew that she meant every word of it.

"Excuse me?" arching a brow as she glanced at Emma. Regina was able to easily interpret the fact that Emma was only teasing, though she couldn't help the way the subject of Snow White made her blood boil. "If anything, /she/ needs protection from /me/." Huffing as she stood, Regina brushed her shoulder awkwardly against Emma's, still a bit clumsy and dizzy from her fall. "And you'll do damn well to remember that, /Emma Swan/." Regina spat the name like an insult, frowning as it rolled off of her tongue.

The sudden one eighty of Regina's attitude causes a frown to spread across Emma's features, though she watched the woman to be sure that she didn't fall before rising as well.

"Hey..I didn't mean..alright." Arguing didn't seem to be a very fruitful endeavor at the moment, so Emma just gestured toward the darker woman with the book still in her hands. "So we can find these vampires with this?"

"Like I've been trying to tell you from the very beginning, we can try. Most likely it will involve a great deal of travel. I have to look over these books tonight." Bending down to pick them up, Regina stacked them in her arms each one at a time. "I'll have more answers for you in the morning."

Giving up the books in her arms, Emma nodded and cast another glance in the direction of the wall.

"Alright. Travel could be fun. David can take over while I'm gone." After seeing Regina almost collapse from simple magic, Emma refused to let the woman chase her away. Henry would never get over losing the mother he grew up with.

Rolling her eyes, perhaps a bit over dramatic, it was difficult for Regina to picture Emma's parents allowing her to go anywhere with Regina without a fight. There's no way that Regina was not picking up on Emma's fixation of the drawer wall, so Regina extended my fingers and hooked her index in a "come hither" motion. "Shall we get this over with? ", the woman drawled, before each and every drawer comes flying out of the wall to open, each individually glowing red and thump-thumping with each second that passes.

The short second in which Emma was not sure what Regina was referring to was quickly banished when the solid thump of the drawers startled her into jumping, a hand held to her own chest as her heart beats quickly from the fear induced adrenalin rush. Eyes wide, she couldn't help but lean forward to look at the hearts more closely, a morbid curiosity seizing her as she watched the things beat and imagine just how many people they represent.

"Why don't you just..give them back?" Emma voiced the thought before her brain caught up with her mouth.

Regina came up slowly behind the blonde, though tentatively so. She never voiced her concerns, or her feelings, but having someone believe in her has been refreshing and now.. The woman couldn't imagine the fear and/or disappointment on Emma's face, nor did she want to see it. Though she knew it was inevitable.

"Not all of these are mine..my doing. It's my mother that taught me this method of exerting control." She explained solemnly, "Regardless, it's too late for redemption now."

So you don't know who they belong to..that makes sense actually. Part of Emma was certain that Regina would have given the hearts back if she could, and Emma chose to believe that part. Whirling to face Regina when she fell silent, Emma decided that she had to find a way to make Regina believe. It's -not- too late and she was going to believe it if it killed Emma.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me. 3**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

"Why are you doing this?" Regina asked, though it's more-so a sigh of defeat. A stunned look crossed her features as Emma turned, and Regina wasted no time in stepping back to put some distance between them. "I get it. You are the hero, the saviour, the white knight. But please, Emma, for both of our sake... stop trying to fix me."

"I'm not trying to -fix- you. I'm not even trying to save you, I just want you to see that you don't need to be -fixed-." Emma meant it, every word, and it still surprised her despite the fact that it was coming from her own mouth. "You're flawed, yeah, but everybody is..", looking over at the wall of open drawers,"..somehow."

Regina shook her head and busied herself with a wave of her hand, shutting the drawers on the wall. "I never believed I needed to be /fixed/, but your quest to do…well, whatever it is you think you're going to accomplish here, with me, is a bit dumbfounding."

"Well, you haven't threatened me in the last five minutes, so that's an improvement." Grinning just a bit, Emma was trying to make a point, even though she quietly thought` Regina was right. Emma agreed that this was all a bit dumbfounding, but she needn't tell Regina that. Maybe Emma would admit it when she figured out what it was that she was trying to do. "So, tomorrow then?"

"Whatever." Regina called out as she turned away, opening another door with a wave of her hand. "You can see yourself out, yes?" she asked, though she did not wait for an answer and instead disappeared into another room. "Come find me tomorrow."

Pausing, Emma debated chasing after the woman before deciding to just leave. Why would she go after Regina? She didn't owe the woman anything. Why was she helping her? Because she wanted to, yes, but why did she want to so badly? Not something Emma was prepared to deal with. She called out a good night as she walked out, not waiting for the response she knew wouldn't come.

Regina waited until she heard Emma's heavy foot falls on the stone steps before breathing a sigh of relief, and thousand questions and scenarios running through her mind. Though there wasn't much time for that. Surrounded by the comforts of home that she had managed to bring with her to this world, Regina collapsed on the chaise lounge with the books spread out in front of her, preparing herself for a long night of studying and strengthening her magic for her and Emma's newfound quest.

Curiosity and nerves were a vicious combination and made the night long, no matter that Emma was exhausted. While getting ready for bed after a short dinner, Emma threw a few pairs of jeans and some other essentials into a duffel bag in case she should need to leave with Regina on short notice. She didn't peg Regina as the type to need very long to pack, if it took any time at all with magic.

Uncertain of the time that they had gotten down into the vault, all Regina really knew was when she got around to looking at her phone, her eyes were heavy and sore from reading and she was exhausted from the energy she'd spent using magic. Regina couldn't help herself though, as curiosity got the better of her. Regina kept her cell phone out and pulled up a message box to Emma, despite the early hour.

_Chicken out yet? _Regina didn't fight the smirk as she continued typing_. We've established that you have an unnatural fear of zombies, but what about these bloodsucking vampires I'm chasing after?_

It appeared to Emma that her own trouble sleeping was something in which she was not alone when her phone buzzed, alerting her to a message. The Sheriff had expected maybe David asking for help with Leroy or something along those line, but seeing Regina's name on her phone followed by the snide message made it impossible not to smile. Emma imagined she could almost hear Regina's voice as she read the words and replied with her own healthy dose of snark.

_I'm a Swan, not a chicken, remember? And last I checked, zombies aren't actually real, so how true can the big bad vampire stories be?_

Emma could only hope that vampires aren't as scary or clever as they're supposed to be, though if it came down to it, the blonde felt she could handle it if she were expecting it. If Regina was going to face the vampires, Emma refused to let her do it alone, no matter how strong she might think she is.

Chuckling upon seeing the reply, Regina was pleasantly surprised, having not expected to get anything from Emma so late at night.

_Perhaps you should have looked at this literature a bit more closely, Miss Swan. There are illustrations. And who is to say zombies don't exist? Have you learned nothing since coming to this town? _Regina typed, fighting the smile that so desperately wants to break out.

Regina's response gave Emma pause, forcing her to think that just maybe she was out of her league. Damn.

_Well, if you can take them, I can take them. What could be scarier than a dragon?_

The thought of decomposing zombies reaching out of the ground made Emma shudder lightly, but then again.. She had had Cora's hand in her chest, that's a little scarier.

Regina had gathered her things and extinguished the lights in her underground hideout. With the books in tow, she made it back to the top, pushed the stone block over the staircase and transported herself back to her mansion. Immediately Regina dropped the books and collapsed onto the floor with a heavy breath. Long minutes passed by before the buzz of her phone jerks her from her haze, a welcome distraction.

_Bloodsucking vampires, perhaps? _Regina answered back with a question of her own. _I need to know If the Saviour is a dud before I put my life in her hands._

_The nice thing about guns and magic alike is the fact that they are both long range weapons, I won't let any of them close enough to let it matter how strong or vicious vampires really are. _Emma shot back quickly.

The blonde's gun was across the room at the moment, but she still felt more secure knowing that it was near, more secure than anything else had made her feel.

Regina felt her eyes roll of their own accord at Emma's response on the lit up screen.

_The unfortunate thing about your kind is you think shiny bullets can save you in any situation. _Responded Regina bluntly. _You really know nothing about these creatures, do you? Not even in a world where the supernatural is turned into some fetish. Pity._

_Shiny bullets have saved me in a number of situations, but forgive me for not growing up around magic. I'm not too shabby with a sword either. _Emma had to mention the sword for fear that Regina would think she was completely hopeless. That wasn't even including where she grew up, a subject Emma actively tried to avoid. It was one of the few subjects that were off limits for real conversation for so many reasons.

_Oh, so now the vampires will come away with a new weapon to brandish and a nice Swan snack. Could you not have informed me of your incompetence in this area before I spent an entire night studying alone? _Regina huffed at her phone screen before pressing send, pulling herself off of the floor to move up the stairs and into her bedroom.

_If they're so scary, you really think they'd be worse with a sword? And seriously, I'm not that pathetic. _Emma was a little annoyed by Regina's lack of faith. She had broken the woman's curse, hadn't she? She chose not to use that to argue her case though, guessing that Regina wouldn't appreciate being reminded of her failure.

_This is a life or death situation. Please excuse my lack of faith, since you've showed so much promise_. Regina replied, dry sarcasm obvious even through text, as she got dressed for bed.

_I beat /you/, didn't I? And that was before I even really was the 'Savior'_. The gloves came off as Emma knew for a fact that would provoke the former Queen, but it was the truth.

Emma's words left a bad taste in Regina's mouth, a reminder of her failure. Clenching her jaw as she read it over and over again before she pressed the power button, causing the screen to go black. She wouldn't dignify the comment with a response, instead lying in bed with a racing mind and an aching heart, eyes closed in the hope of sleep she knew wouldn't come.

After waiting for almost half an hour, Emma thought that maybe Regina had fallen asleep, which is better than thinking that she made the woman mad. Even though she probably did. Sighing and texting a quick _Sorry_, Emma put the phone aside and closed her eyes to force herself to rest for the next couple of hours until sunrise. Emma didn't want to seem too eager, but the call of an adventure would definitely appease the parts of her soul that had been screaming at her to get out, the parts that reminded her of the days when all she did was run away.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me. 3**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_Emma didn't want to seem too eager, but the call of an adventure would definitely appease the parts of her soul that had been screaming at her to get out, the parts that reminded her of the days when all she did was run away._

"You can take your sorry and shove it", Regina muttered to herself once she saw Emma's text, letting it go without reply.

Rising in the morning long before the sun is up by an hour or two. Regina showered and readied herself for the day, showing up at Emma's door just before eight o'clock with two cups of coffee and the books they'd retrieved from Regina's hide out the night before, freeing a hand to knock loudly upon Emma's door.

Emma had been getting out of the shower when the knock sounded, thinking that maybe if she went over to Regina's place around eight thirty or nine it would be acceptable. But now, there was no one else that knock could be at this hour with Snow and Henry at school and David at the station. Pulling on a robe so Emma wouldn't be answering the door in a towel, the blonde opened it and noted with surprise the coffee that Regina was bearing.

"Good morning, um, thanks." Taking the coffee and the books to help, Emma set both on the counter and held up a hand. "Just a minute." Walking back into the room Emma called hers, she pulled out a tank top and jeans and yelled out to Regina. "I didn't know if you'd still be asleep or I would have come over to you earlier."

"Really, Miss Swan?" she drawled, arching a brow as Emma disappeared into her room. "You should know me much better than that." she continued as she looked around what used to be just plain old Mary Margaret's, pleased to see she still has horrid taste. "And here I thought I'd be the one having to pull you out of bed.."

"Maybe on any other day.." Emma answered back with a laugh, "But someone put images of bloodsucking vampires and zombie witches in my head, so sleep was not really easy in coming." Emma didn't know when the zombies in her head gained powers, but it was frightening enough to keep her awake. Even now she could feel the adrenalin rush in her chest when she thought of battling undead creatures. Returning to the open area and retrieving her coffee, Emma sipped at it with a satisfied smile. "Thanks for this, by the way. Did you find out where we're going?"

"Still afraid of zombies, yet you remain so set on this trip..." Regina clicked her tongue in disapproval, despite the smile that seems to be tugging on her lips. Turning around when she felt Emma enter the room again, Regina was slowly realizing that she was always subconsciously aware of Emma if they were in the same vicinity ever since she broke the curse and acquired magic. "Well... after going through the literature I have settled on one of two places that might lead to some great success." Regina finally answered Emma's question with an actual answer, inviting herself to sit upon a stool at the island in the small kitchenette as she retrieved her own coffee. "Alaska...", she paused to take a sip of the hot coffee, "Or Russia."

Emma leaned forward with her elbows on the counter, brow knit together as she sipped further at her coffee, keeping the hot beverage close to her face. It was slightly chilly in the loft and Emma hadn't dried her hair yet, but the call of hot coffee was too much to ignore. The thought of somewhere cold wasn't helping however.

"That's quite a choice. Are we..driving? Flying?" With how Regina had collapsed after merely lighting a torch, I don't hold out hope for magic.

"Oh yes, Miss Swan, since we get along so fabulously I thought a cross country trip in a car with you sounded so perfect." Regina's voice dripped sarcasm as she reached for one of the books and licked at her thumb to flip through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. "Here." She slid the book over to Emma. Though the pages were lined in a foreign tongue, there were pictures to accompany them. "This speaks of a..polar night." Regina paused to find the exact phrase to refresh her memory. "In Alaska. A month long. A vampire's paradise. Lilith's particular clan would no doubt seize this opportunity to feast for thirty long days in the darkness. Though she hasn't ruled for quite some time..I'm quite confident it is a good place to start."

Twisting her face into a wry expression, Emma looked down at the page, tracing a finger over the illustration of the moon, more artistic than anything else. It would be pretty were it not for the shadowed figures.

"Sounds like a bad horror movie.." mused Emma idly, while wondering just how exactly we could fight vampires on their own turf. "All mockery aside, how do you really fight a vampire? I mean, it's not as simple as wooden stakes and all..right?"

"All mockery aside, cliches aren't entirely unwarranted." Regina offered, in hopes that Emma would and could connect the dots herself. "They can handle bullets. And /swords/", informed the woman with a dramatic look, reaching across towards Emma to flip a few pages to show several more illustrations. "Though, I'd prefer to get through this with no violence whatsoever, so perhaps you should leave your little toys at home."

"We're going to Alaska, I'm not leaving my gun across the country." Looking over the pictures, Emma couldn't keep from being just a little sick. Creatures of the night..and you want to make the one who rules them all your pet.. Maybe I'm not the only sick one here.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Why, do I see a bit of trepidation... dare I say, fear?" Regina eyed Emma with curious amusement. "I do need someone..some/thing/ to occupy my time now that there's not much entertainment in this town. I can tell you're itching for an adventure..or perhaps you would prefer going bird watching with that bore you call mother."

Emma was torn between scowling and laughing, choosing an eye roll as a happy medium. "You couldn't have joined an internet dating site instead? It seems a little less deadly."

"Really?" Regina seemed incredulous at the suggestion. "And what do you think we have in this town? /Singlebrooke/? I'm quite aware of everyone in this town and I guarantee you, I'm not interested in dating or otherwise."

It wasn't clear what was funnier, Regina's surprise or her sarcasm, but it had Emma cracking up, nearly snorting into her coffee before she set it down in time. "Alright, alright, that's a good point, but Boston isn't that far away.

Regina arched a brow while surveying Emma curiously and asked, "And what, pray tell, could Boston possibly hold for me?"

"Single men? Or ladies, whichever." Emma suggested casually, teasing, though she couldn't really imagine Regina in a relationship where she didn't hold every ounce of control. Hm. Explains the whole want for a pet actually.

"I've had enough relationship nonsense for a lifetime, Miss Swan." Regina cut the teasing short as they head into a topic that was uncomfortable for the brunette. "Can we get back on topic?"

"I get that." Missing Regina's discomfort while distracted by her own, Emma sipped again at her coffee. "So we were talking about how you have a fetish for getting beat up? Because it sounds like you're chasing something that is just.." Emma wanted to say too much to handle, but she doubted Regina would take it very well.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, nor have I asked for your company", Regina pointed out, trying and failing to keep the irritation out of her voice. "You are /free/ to go, Miss Swan. Just say the word."

With another roll of her eyes which Emma realized was quickly becoming a habit, she shook her head. "Not going to happen, I'm not letting you go off to be eaten alone. Henry would never get over it." Neither would Emma, but she neglected to add that as she didn't care to think about why it matters so much outside of Henry.

"I won't be getting eaten, you idiot", Regina muttered while her fingertips tap upon the coffee cup in her hands. "I'm going to seek out one among many, and offer her safety and power. This is /not/ a suicide mission unless /you/ make it one."

"But doesn't she already have safety and power if she's the queen? I mean.. I can't really say I know, but I don't think a queen would just give in because you asked her to. Actually, I /can/ say I know, because I know you sure as hell wouldn't." Grinning as she made her point, Emma turned to pick up her duffel bag where she had left it in the short hallway, debating on whether she should pack something warmer.

"Really, you should have stayed with me last night." Regina clicked her tongue at the time she wasted pouring over these books when she could have been educating Emma on the target of this mission and everything it encompasses. "She is a /fallen/ queen, Miss Swan. Without status, due to the simple fact that a mortal human defeated her. The entire population thought she was dead, but I'm smarter than that." The brunette couldn't help the smirk that crossed her features at the idea that her survival has been overlooked all along. "She's hiding, Emma. And I'm going to create enough buzz to bring her out."

"Buzz?" Emma was not sure how to feel about that, seeing as every vampire flick she had ever seen that involved trying to lure the monster out meant.. "You're not going to use yourself as bait or anything crazy like that, right?" No way, you're smarter than that, you must be.

"No!" The woman laughed as Emma closed the book in front of her, pushing it into the middle of the counter. "Why would I ever use myself as bait in such a manner? Besides... why else would I be bringing you along?"

Taken aback for a second before she can process, and hope, that it is a joke, Emma reached out and slapped Regina's shoulder.

"Don't even think about it! Or I might just have to let a vampire get you." Emma doubted anything could get them when they're together. "In any case, we work better as a team. What would you do without me?" Tossing Regina a cheeky smirk, Emma reentered her room and grabbed several hooded sweatshirts to stuff into her bag.

"/We/?" Regina repeated with disbelief, blinking a few times as Emma's words registered in her mind. "Let's see... what I would be doing without you is, living a perfectly normal, happy life with a son that still loves me." The woman answered honestly, bitterness obvious in her voice. "/That's/ what I'd be doing, Miss Swan. I'd be living a normal life with /my son/."

The bitterness struck Emma through and she was grateful that she was still in her room. For a second, just a second, the blonde clung to a sweatshirt, hugging it to her chest to dull the pain that had just sliced through. It's a familiar pain, being unwanted, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

Instead of answering, Emma yelled out the door and changed the subject, not trusting herself to remain impassive. Or at least to seem so.

"Do you think sweatshirts and a long sleeved shirts will be fine, or should I bring a real winter jacket?"

"We are going to /Russia/ and /Alaska/". Regina repeated in frustration, slamming her hands onto the counter top, causing her coffee cup to shake in the process. "Use what is left of your brain. I'm not your mother, and I sure as hell won't be acting as such while we're on this trip. You think you can take care of my son when you can't even dress yourself for winter!?"

"Well /excuse/ me. I just didn't know how much we would be outdoors or inside. Don't vampires like underground fortresses and old castles?" The sarcasm dripped from Emma's words just as much as the sincerity did in a weird balance. Maybe she /should/ have stayed with Regina and learned more. Peeking her head out of the door, Emma gave Regina a sour look.

"And you're right, you're /not/ my mother, in fact, you're sort of my step grandmother, aren't you?" Low blow maybe, but Emma didn't care. If Regina won't play nice, then Emma had no obligation to do so either. Besides, Emma thought she was out of throwing/magic distance. Hopefully.

This time when Regina slammed her hands down on the counter, she was standing from her seat on the stool while beginning to gather her things. "Forget it. Forget this. Too much trouble, and certainly not worth it. I'm going to do this alone." Regina muttered quietly to herself, swiping her coffee off the counter once the books were in her arms, heading to the door in a hurry.

The echo of Regina's palms slapping down on the counter made Emma jump, the other woman's rush to leave making her stomach sink. The blonde jumped up and took the few long steps to reach Regina before she could reach the door, tugging at the back of her jacket. "Wait! No, I'm sorry, sorry!" The apology is sincere, if panicked. "Really, you look good!" Emma could only assume that she hurt the former Queen's pride with bringing up age and Emma aimed to correct this quickly. "I promise! Not like a grandma at all, forget I said it!"

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me. **


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

"Don't you /dare/!" Regina exclaimed, spinning round to face Emma. What the blonde had said was hurtful, but for different reasons than are apparent. "/You/ don't get to speak about matters you know nothing of, /Emma Swan/." Yet again the brunette spit the name as if it were some form of insult, each syllable dripping with nothing but disgust. "Your mother was nothing, /you/ are nothing. Don't you dare let your twit of a mother fool you into thinking that that marriage was one of choice, that it was /my/ decision. Your mother, and you, are /nothing/ to me."

Any words that Emma had had in her head had vacated the premises as Regina screamed, leaving her feeling as abandoned as the day she was born. Staring at Regina as she yelled and in the pause when the dust is settling, so to speak, Emma couldn't find a word to say. The woman's face dropped, hair shadowing her features as she struggled for words. It had been an age since she was last stricken so silent and..something. Not quite sad, the word wasn't big enough. Maybe empty? That felt right. Empty.

"I guess you're right, I mean nothing, and neither does she, not really. But that just makes me wonder more about you."

"Well you can keep wondering. You and the rest of this sad, little town can keep wondering, you all can keep your rumours and your ideas to yourselves." Regina spit her words, allowing her anger and hurt to pour into her fury, to fuel her rage. "I'm doing this by myself. Forget everything." Without waiting for a reply, she turned away from Emma to open the door and take her leave.

Reaching out again, Emma took a strong hold of Regina's arm and tugged backwards so she could get her forearm wrapped around Regina's neck. Emma had fought Regina before, and she wouldn't let the royal run away. At least fighting means that something gets done.

"Stop running away! You keep running away from everything and it's not getting better! If I can't run away from here, neither can you!"

From the unexpected force, Regina dropped the books and the coffee right onto the floor as she flew into Emma with a heavy thud and a fast exhale. The feeling of being so constrained by Emma causes Regina to panic, reminding her of a past life she'd rather not relive, and as she used her hands to push into Emma's stomach, Regina's magic took control and sent Emma flying to the other side of the room. It was unintentional, to a degree, but Regina was far from sorry. "We are not in this together!" Regina screamed, no longer caring who might manage to overhear. "You know nothing of what I've been through, Emma Swan. So don't you dare try and stand here and put us on level grounding. I'll do what I damn well please."

The force with which Emma's head hit the wall wouldn't have been so bad were it not brick. As it was, Emma made a mental note to go to the hospital after this, just in case. Concussions can be nasty. Picking herself up off the floor, Emma grunted/yelled back at your last statement.

"That's pretty damn obvious!" Groaning and rubbing at her shoulder, Emma thanked god it wasn't dislocated, Trying to direct a glare that wouldn't betray the severity of my pain, Emma stayed by the wall though she was on her feet. "Can you just be a person and talk to me without thinking everything I say is meant to be cruel? Goddamnit!"

"Can /you/ ever think before you open that big mouth of yours!?" Regina screamed back, blinded by the rush of memories that she'd been forced to face once more thanks to you. It's what she tried to avoid daily, the memories, the pain, her past. But here you are, the goddamned saviour, leaving me with not even a choice and this all happened by damn accident.

"If I /knew/ what was off limits then we wouldn't /have/ these problems!" And now Regina was looking as if she was in pain and Emma wondered how much effort it would take to throw Regina against a wall too. The magic was swirling in her gut but Emma didn't really know how to harness it. It was sweet, but syrupy, sort of unpleasantly so, but it's tempting and nearly makes ones' mouth water with its perceived taste. It can't taste like anything, it's magic, but it still messed with the senses.

This, right here and right now with Emma, just acted as a horrible reminder as to why Regina had long forgotten the idea of allowing anyone in ever again. There was always too much difficulty, too much pain and sorrow.

"Everything". Regina practically growled, turning around to meet Emma's gaze for a simple second before she waved a hand, making the books disappear from Emma's floor, but leaving the coffee splattered all over before she left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Mouth hanging open, Emma couldn't think for a minute, trying to consider what on earth to do next. To chase you or head to the hospital? Well, one would mean that Emma would probably get scolded for stupidity, and the other means possible further injury. Lose/lose, but Emma had to make a decision.

Stepping around the coffee that the woman already knew would be a sticky, annoying mess when she got around to taking care of it, Emma ran out the door as well. If she was anything, it's persistent. Emma chased down her ridiculous, secretly from fairytale land ex, she could chase down a psychotic magical queen.

"Hey!"

Regina hated Emma. That's the only explanation to all of this, the only thought running through Regina's mind as she tried to fight the tears that were welling up in her eyes with all the emotion that's hitting her. She'd fought everything off for so long. People. The past. Emotions. Feeling. Everything. Who the hell is Emma Swan to come in and break everything down in one go? Her voice jolted Regina out of her head and caused her to spin around without thinking, only to have her vision filled with Emma. Great.

" What? What is it now? Don't you think you've done enough?" Regina folded her arms across her chest, as if it would protect her from whatever else was about to come her way.

Emma's fists opened and closed as she breathed heavily, aching in more ways than one. Hurting Regina had affected her more than she had expected it could and she didn't think a sorry would suffice, though it's all Emma could think of.

"Sorry, I really mean it." Emma didn't know what else she could say that didn't sound shallow and stupid and even though Emma really wanted to knock some sense into the infuriating brunette, she defaulted to her best defense mechanism. Humor. "I'll..uh..how about I be the bait and you can let the vampires beat me up instead?"

Regina was shaking her head violently before Emma even opened her mouth, seeing her so-called "apology" written all over her face.

"No. No, Emma. No." Emma swiped her hand through the air to show that this is the end of the conversation about this trip. "I'm doing this by myself. I've..I've had enough." Admitting this took more out of Regina than she had expected, her voice quiet as her gaze drops to the ground.

Yelling was Emma's instinct, loudly and until she got what she wanted. And yet all she could hear was Regina's voice over everything, reminding her to have patience, though it was barely a murmur. Emma took a minute to realize that maybe she was a little childish, and so she kept her voice low as she tried again to bargain with Regina. Now she didn't so much want to go with Regina because of an adventure, but for the point. Emma wouldn't be driven away. She was not a child who can be shoved away anymore.

"I used to try and do everything alone too. It nearly got me killed more than once, and I thought I was done trying to need people. Then I came here and sort of got shown up. Not being alone was nice, even though half the time I want to throttle the people I'm supposed to call family."

It wasn't easy for Emma to admit that she used to be wrong, or to basically bare her neck to a daylight vampire such as Regina, but yelling had ended with the blonde being thrown rather violently against a wall, so Emma was rethinking her strategy.

"You think maybe you could just let me not be alone by you? If I'm being honest, everybody else here is on my family's side and I'm getting kind of tired of my parents 'finding' each other every day after work. It gets old.

Emma was hoping the dig at her family would at least get Regina to stop looking at her like she wanted to tear her head off, or her own.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

"_You think maybe you could just let me not be alone by you?"_

One extreme to the other, that's how it always is with Emma, at least it seemed so to Regina. People used to cower in front of her. They would obey her every wish and command. But with Emma? Regina would get nothing but challenges. The brunette could exert her power, but still Emma refused to bend. And now that the curse was broken and Regina had nothing left to hide behind save for her own thick skin, she was exhausted.

"I... I can't do this.", Regina admitted quietly, trying and failing to keep the worthless vulnerability out of her tone. "I'm going to do this alone, the way I initially intended to. Someone must stay behind and tend to Henry, regardless."

"Don't make us worry." Instantly it's what Emma thinks of and it slips out too quickly for her brain to regulate. Because Emma wouldn't lie to Henry. She would want to, but she wouldn't, and they would sit there and worry about Regina as she went after a vampire. "I know it's not like I can do a whole lot, but sometimes one person can make the difference." I can't remember how many times I wished I had a partner when I worked as a bailbondsperson, especially the time I broke a rib.

"Stop trying to be the goddamn hero, here. Go waste your time on someone else, like the town drunk." It seemed to Emma that drawling was Regina's favorite method of communication. "I will do this on my own, as I always have." With her head held high, Regina announced just that, finding the courage and strength to meet Emma's gaze with her walls back up in place.

With Regina meeting Emma's eyes, she was finding it easier to play the role she'd been assigned, now that Regina wasn't running away. "So I have a hero complex, doesn't make me wrong. And wouldn't it be nice to have someone to cheer you on for once then?" Emma was basically relegating herself to cheerleader, but she could play this game. Her life was games.

"I don't need a cheerleader. I don't need a companion. I don't need an accomplice. I don't need whatever it is that you think I seem to need, or want, or whatever it is you're attempting to infer from what you /think/ you know of me." Regina's voice was steady now that she'd regained her footing. Confidence. "I'm telling you for once and for all, Emma. I'm leaving tomorrow…and you aren't coming with me." Regina closed with that, leaving no room for arguments or discussion, before turning neatly on the heel of her shoe and heading for her car.

"Why?" Emma refused to move, refused to chase Regina more, but she wouldn't let Emma stop talking to her. Maybe Emma could finally learn why Regina seemed to hate her so vehemently still after all this time. "It's been a long time since I first came here, and I really don't get why it is you still seem to despise me." It was a little discouraging now that Emma was starting to care again what people thought of her.

This time, Regina didn't turn around, just kept on walking until she reached her car and eagerly unlocked it to reach the solace of silence within. With a slam of her car door Regina could shut out the world, and she wasted no time in starting the car and pulling away to take the long way home in hopes to clear her head. {You belong alone} Regina told herself, reminding herself of the vow she had taken ever since Daniel died. Even now, after the curse was broken, Regina refused to allow his death to be in vain. And nobody, not even Emma Swan... the Saviour... is going to stop Regina from hiding from love.

Watching Regina drive away hurt, and Emma hadn't planned on letting her leave alone. If Regina tried to leave, Emma could even set up a damn police blockade. Unless her magic suddenly got stronger, Regina would have to fly, and the airport in Boston knew Emma from several encounters in which she used their help to apprehend some bum jumping bail. If Regina tried to fly from there, Emma could just use a connection to slow her down. Reaching for her phone, Emma was tempted to tell Regina all of this, but somehow she knew that if Regina were aware then she would find a way around it.  
_  
I hope you don't think that I give up that easily. _You should know, but I text you anyway, letting you know I don't think that this is over.

Ignoring her phone when it first buzzes, Regina tells herself repeatedly that in a few hours she'll forget about this. The anger will be gone, and she'll be able to focus on her trip and the task at hand. So, Regina cleans. She cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, though it was already immaculate after not being used ever since Henry started to pull away. The woman kept going and vacuumed every inch of the immense house before feeling like she deserved to take a shower, but still... the anger and the pain were still there, and only grow when I can no longer endure the nagging and look at the message you've sent hours earlier_. I hope you don't think I care._ was Regina's reply, and she sent it without hesitating.

Emma had decided to go into the station, letting David go out on patrol so she could have some time to think. Regina had pushed her away and Emma could deal with that temporarily but long term.. She had yet to figure out a way to get Regina to talk to her again. It mattered, though acknowledging why wasn't something that the girl really cared to do. Was it still just because Emma thought that Regina looks…nice..when she smiles? Emma could feel the blush in her face when she thought of admitting anything to you. It was stupid.

As Emma sat thinking about whether lunch would be worth walking over to Granny's for, a vibration in her pocket started up and left Emma practically diving for it. Having almost given up hope that Regina would respond, Smiling despite the message content, Emma told herself that if Regina didn't care then she would just ignore her.

-_Am I still banished from our hunting trip then?-_

Regina couldn't help but to roll her eyes at how quickly Emma responded, and then at the message that she read on her screen. Surely, Emma couldn't be serious, after everything that's happened between us today.

_Miss Swan, this is the final time I'll tell you that this trip was never /ours/, there was never an /us/, and you need to clear that delusion from your head._

Emma was perfectly aware of what Regina was trying to tell her, but she also found that insisting on calling it ours kept Regina talking to her.

_I wouldn't say never. Besides, this trip would give you a good chance to off me and blame a vampire._

It's half a joke even as Emma considered how true it was. But Regina wouldn't do that, right? At this point, the blonde was just trying to make the brunette laugh. Laughing would mean Regina was distracted from hating Emma. The girl could only guess that it was the child in her, perpetually looking for acceptance and approval.

The royal's fingers twitched at the thought of killing Emma. How long had she spent obsessed with the blonde's demise after she rolled into town and decided to make it her home? Too long. Even now, sometimes, Regina couldn't help but fall back in to the familiarity of the shadows before she was jerked back into reality. A reality where she is supposed to be redeeming herself. It was a fruitless endeavor.

_If I wanted to kill you, I guarantee I wouldn't need something like a trip to Russia and a vampire to do so._

_So we agree I'm not going to die on the trip. At least not by your hand.- _

Emma found that assuming that she was going kept her spirits up, she just hoped it wasn't grating on Regina's nerves enough to actually seek her out. Though it's not like anyone could stop her if she chose to follow Regina. Who knew, maybe Emma would save Regina's life or do something else to make the woman stop hating her.

_You aren't going_!, Regina wasted no time in responding, not a second longer for Emma to misinterpret that Regina simply talking to her meant that anything has changed. Regina then pulled up another text box and began typing. _This is a losing battle you need to give up on. I've made my decision. Respect it like an adult._

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me. **


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_This is a losing battle you need to give up on. I've made my decision. Respect it like an adult._

_-And what if I want to hunt vampires too?-_ The girl thought maybe this really was a losing battle, but giving up wasn't Emma's thing anymore. Regina couldn't make her. She would just follow the brunette if she needed to, adult or no.

_Then you can find your own goddamned vampire to hunt and battle to fight. This is mine to work through and no one else's. Forget about it, Emma_. Regina typed furiously, growing sick and tired of the fight going around in circles and getting absolutely nowhere.

_-Want to talk about it over lunch?-_

It would really be a win/win situation if Regina chose to accept. And Emma enjoyed the thought of being able to hold a conversation that didn't end with her flying into a wall. Not mention, after lunch the blonde could go see the doctor, the black spots had started creeping into the edges of her vision. It was just a little worrisome.

Regina was pleased to find that the next text she received was an easy one to answer, though she took her time in letting Emma simmer for just a bit before she sent her response. Simple, and to the point.

_No._

Huffing at your response, Emma answered after a few minutes, trying not to seem eager or hurt or anything that would make Regina smug.

_-You're amazingly difficult.- _Just a statement of fact.

Regina's brows rose immediately in response to Emma's message. It was nothing new, it's nothing that she hadn't heard before, and more importantly, it's nothing that she didn't know to be true.

_I fail to see your point, and more importantly, I don't care. Good day, Miss Swan._

_-Dinner then. At the diner.-_

Stubborn to a fault, Emma refused to be dismissed. Regina might have been the queen somewhere, but here she's just the bitch that Emma was trying to make not hate her.

Regina knew that this was some sort of mission of Emma's. A conquest. Perhaps it was even a bet. Still, Regina refused to be made into anyone's fool.

_No_. Regina repeated for a second time, and left it at just that.

-_I'm not going to stop until you don't hate me.-_

The one word replies were irritating and it was a waste of time when a call could come into the station at any minute and tear Emma away from her attempt at conversation.

_I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you_. was all Regina offered in reply before tossing her phone onto the other side of her bed and rolling over so that her back was facing it. Even though this day was only halfway through, Regina was already more than over it, and in the silence of her room in just a few moments, the woman drifted off into a light sleep.

_-I never did get the attraction of breathplay, I'm not about to start for you.-_

Hm, a sex joke. Emma blamed it on the late night tv she'd been using to distract herself from the fact that she couldn't sleep. Emma also knew it wouldn't be as easy to make Regina like her as just being nice, but it's a start, right? After a few minutes, a call from David made it clear that a domestic disturbance involving Pongo and some crushed roses would keep Emma in paperwork for the better part of an hour, and her lunch option flew out the window. Substituting the filling and delicious burger she had been craving in favor of weak coffee that only reminded Emma of the mess at home, she started on the paperwork with a sigh and a hope that the day would only get better.

FIFIFIFIFIFIF

Regina woke up out of her sleep, a horrible dream, as she rolled from the bed and fell to the floor with a heavy thud and a groan of panic. Blinking away the sleep, the woman looked around with relief to find that she was no longer in the Enchanted Forest, but in Storybrooke. That was perhaps the first sigh of relief she'd had that she was there since the very beginning. She managed to crawl back on the bed to find her cell phone, checking the time to see that it was only mid-afternoon and the day was far from over. Great.

_You're disgusting._ Regina replied once she read Emma's crude message before heading into the bathroom to splash some water on her face and chase away the lingering remnants of her nightmare.

The paperwork scattered across Emma's desk kept her from noticing the message for a good half hour, but it isn't surprising when she sees it.

_And funny._ Emma tapped out the short response and then made an executive decision when the right forma are all filled out to call Ruby and have lunch brought to the station. It wasn't really what the diner did, but with the lunch rush over, Emma felt confident that Ruby wouldn't mind.

_Do us both a favor and lose my number._ Regina was no longer in the mood to deal with Emma's nonsense, especially after the nightmare she had had. Instead, she busied herself with packing, preparing for the trip that she was now planning to take alone, seeking out the one prize she had not yet been able to claim as her own in hopes to fill the aching loneliness that seemed to be eating her slowly.

_-I don't see how that does anyone a favor. Who else is going to entertain you?-_

It wasn't even a dig, Emma just wanted Regina to see that they could probably be friends if she would give it a chance. Emma didn't think she was /that/ bad.

_It does me a favor because it saves me the time I'm wasting responding to you, and it does you a favor because it saves you embarrassment. _ Regina replied with a small smirk.

-_Who says I'm embarrassed? You don't embarrass me.-_

Maybe a little, but sitting across town from Regina gave Emma a bit of leeway for the lie. Face to face might have made it harder, but from her chair in the station, it was relatively easy to forget anytime Regina had embarrassed her even a little.

Regina's phone lit up next to the bag she was packing on her bed, but she simply rolled her eyes after glancing at the message. She had no plans to respond, hoping that perhaps a bit of silence would allow Emma to get the hint and take Regina further than replying to the blond has in the past few hours.

When Ruby arrived with the succulent burger, Emma forgot about the phone for awhile, enjoying her lunch thoroughly and thanking Ruby with a hefty tip. It was some time before she returned her attention to her phone, noting with disappointment the lack of a message. Thinking hard, though she should be working, Emma tried to figure out a change in strategy that will get them back to the place they were in last night with Regina bringing Emma into her secret place and letting the blond help.

_-What if I said please?-_ Emma sent the text with a half hope that she would get an answer.

Regina should have known that simple silence wouldn't sway Emma, though it really was the only defense the woman had left. She'd lost everything, and she was so goddamned tired, but Regina's refused to let Emma know that... or to let anyone in the town know for that matter.

_No. No if you beg. No if you say please. No. Do you understand what "no" means, Miss Swan? I do not want to spend time with you._

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_No. No if you beg. No if you say please. No. Do you understand what "no" means, Miss Swan? I do not want to spend time with you._

_-Why? Haven't we worked together enough times for you to not hate me?-_

It seemed simple to Emma. She and Regina had been friendlier as of late, even amiable, and now this so suddenly? It was a bit injuring if Emma was being honest, and the food she just ate was sitting heavily in her stomach and not helping with her headache. Emma really should have just gone to the doctor instead of work.

Regina felt as if she was being driven to the point of insanity with Emma. She thought perhaps the blonde really was blissfully unaware of the absolute torture Regina had endured in what should have been twenty lifetimes instead of just one, and how hard it was for the royal to keep everything inside with the way Emma was constantly pushing and prodding for the answer she had originally planned upon.

_Whatever it is you want from me is not possible. I cannot give you whatever it is you seek._ Regina replied candidly in hopes that the other woman would finally get the message, though there was a sinking feeling inside that was saying already that she was wrong.

_-I'm not looking for anything. I just thought it'd be nice to be friends.-_

Though Emma was sure it wouldn't be hard to find a friend in town, Ruby counted as one in fact, it didn't feel like anyone in town was challenging. It's like they found out who they are again, but still are settling for..normal? Typical? Emma found it hard to define without sounding silly, seeing as they can't really be anything like normal. But Regina, Regina was something else. Interesting, and possessing depth.

Emma used to tell herself she was being nice for Henry, but now she could admit that she was being nice for herself. The girl wanted Regina as a friend, as weird as it felt and sounded. It may be oversimplified, but right now simple felt good.

_What is it going to take to make you believe I'm not interested? I don't do friendships. I don't do acquaintances, even. I'm better off alone, Miss Swan, and I'm intent on keeping it that way._ Regina answered honestly this time, in the hopes that Emma would take a hint. The only thing Regina had to work toward was her redemption with Henry, though it didn't seem like he was very interested in anything to do with the brunette anymore, which is why Regina managed to find a new mission for herself. Somebody else that will have to depend on Regina, despite how powerful she might be. It was the perfect plan to fill the hole that'd been left in the royal's heart, and she refused to allow some ploy for 'friendship' get in her way.

_-Nobody doesn't want anybody around. Why not someone you don't have to go across the world for?-_

Emma was perfectly willing to go on the escapade with Regina, but it wouldn't kill her to admit that she wanted this /pet/ because she wanted someone around. Then again, a pet couldn't leave. Regina must have just as many issues as Emma herself.

_ If you'd like to keep your tongue intact and in your mouth, I suggest you no longer speak on matters of which you know nothing about._ Regina huffed as she tapped out a reply, quietly berating herself for even allowing this to go on as long as it has. The woman /was/ going on this trip. She had wasted too much time to not go, and Lilith had proven so difficult to find that Regina couldn't pass up the challenge.

_ Good day, Miss Swan_. The brunette sent a few minutes after to show Emma that the conversation had reached an end, once again abandoning her phone to continue packing.

Emma couldn't let Regina just dismiss her like that, and yet she really didn't know what else to say that she hadn't already. Instead of answering, she dropped her phone in a drawer and returned to the other paperwork that she had been putting off while talking with Regina. Not like it was what she really wanted to be doing, but she thought that maybe it would help her clear her head enough to figure out what she could say to convince the other woman that she wouldn't be a liability or a nuisance.

Ignoring her phone entirely, Regina chose not to even give herself the opportunity to be frustrated or angered by the bullheaded blonde. Placing her focus on the trip, the royal packed her bags and then gathered the books. She moved into the study where she then proceeded to shut the world out and get lost in the ancient knowledge.

When not distracted by texting Regina, Emma found that she could get a fair amount of work done and so by the time David came back from his patrol it was all done. A vague sense of accomplishment filled her and gave her a little courageous boost that prodded Emma to try again with Regina. This time, Emma felt that she'd need a little more than just an apology in order to get anywhere.

An idea that was likely very bad came up and like every other day, Emma found herself willing to take it. This vampire queen was supposed to be very hard to find, why not find something that can help with that? Gold should know something. Emma was debating on whether to call or go into his shop when she heard the ring of the bell of someone entering the station and the tap of footsteps. Emma could only think that it couldn't be that easy.

Humming quietly to herself as her eyes scan the pages, Regina still sometimes fumbled over the ancient, foreign language. But she was willing to do anything to forget about a certain blonde. Ever since she came blowing into town, Regina had had a fixation. And now without Henry as a distraction, or anyone else for that matter, all she had time for was thinking. Slowly it was consuming the woman, but she refused to let it win. She refused to give it any focus that would allow it to manifest into something else. One would think it would be easier for Regina when Emma wasn't around. This wasn't the first time she was thinking it wasn't.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

Foot. Cane. Foot. Cane. Gold took his time slinking down the hallway in the Sheriff's station, a smug smirk plastered across his lips as per usual. When he rounded the corner, he peered through the glass at first before hovering in the doorway. Even now that the curse was broken, he never seemed to lose his manners when it came to even the smallest of things.

"Sheriff Swan", he pronounces, his accent thick as always. "Lovely to see you, dear."

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me. 3**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

"_Sheriff Swan", he pronounces, his accent thick as always. "Lovely to see you, dear."_

"Hello.. Are you a mind reader now too?" Emma couldn't help but ask as the man entered the station, an expression of suspicion specially reserved for him plastered all over the blonde's face. It couldn't be coincidence that he appeared just as she was thinking about going to find him. If she'd learned anything at all in this town, it was that coincidence was a joke. Though if Gold was seeking Emma out with knowledge of what she was going to ask for, it must mean that he could help, right? Emma convinced herself of this before making the final decision to ask, though she paused and waited to see what possible reason he could give for showing up at the station out of the blue.

"I'm a man of many trades, as you now know... " Gold stated as he slowly entered the Sheriff's office and took a seat, slowly lowering himself down with the aid of his cane as he kept off of his bad foot. "Though I must tell you I don't believe I've ever been gifted in that sort of trade." He smiled, leaning his cane against Emma's desk. "Though now, it begs question, what it is you could need of my services if you've been thinking about me, dear." Gold winked, his lips pursing as he fought off the pleasurable smile at the thought that Emma could, once again, be seeking out another deal.

Realizing that she'd given up the advantage already, Emma seated herself on the edge of her desk and tried hard not to do so again and just be blunt about what she wanted. Mind games were the man's forte, and Emma was not the most expert player.

"You know how we found Neal? The whole tracking thing..would there be any way you could help me find someone even if I didn't have something of theirs?"

Of course, Regina might have something of Lilith's, but Emma wasn't about to ask her and have the woman make a deal with the man herself.

Gold's brows twitched, just the slightest movement, when he heard Emma's request. It was the last thing he'd been expecting, right? Or perhaps he had been waiting for this moment since the curse broke. Since Emma's first deal with him.

"But you've found your son, Miss Swan. You've found your family. What else could it possibly be that you need? What could it be now that you're after?" he asked curiously, speaking in half-riddles as he always had, as if he didn't know what it was that she was after.

Emma's brow furrowed as she shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I just need to know if you can do it." The blonde would have been worried about being too brusque with anyone else, but this was Gold, and he wasn't one for casual niceties when there was a deal to be made. If he was being nice, it would be because he wanted information. Usually information meant that he gets the power. If he didn't already know why Emma wanted this, she didn't feel inclined to share unnecessarily.

"Well first, dearie...", he drawled as he sat back in the chair, folding his hands one atop another as he looked at Emma with the confidence he rightfully had. He had power. He knew it. And he knew that he would get whatever he wanted out of Emma if she decided to make this deal. "I need to know who it is you're after."

Frustration fueled the huff from the blonde's nose, leaving her fidgety. Of course Gold had to know. The Sheriff had no doubt then that Gold had a pretty good idea of what she wanted, but she wouldn't ask if he knew. She wouldn't get a clear answer anyway.

"I might be going after a vampire."

"A vampire?" Gold asked with amusement, now sitting up to slide to the end of his seat, his back ramrod straight. "And what is it you need with a vampire, exactly?"

Folding her arms and slipping down from her desk edge into her chair, Emma shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You know what I'm after, can you help me?" Emma was sure the man could, though she was also sure this time it was going to come at quite a price. Though owing Gold a favor was not what Emma was going with if she could help it. It backfired like hell last time.

"Now, now, Miss Swan. Surely you can remember that a deal with me... always comes with a price. While you don't have anything I need now, I'll come to you at a later date and you'd be wise not to refuse me." Gold lectured, though he knew it wasn't the first time Emma had made a deal, nor was she stupid. "Who is it you're after?" he asked a second time, though this time around his tone held significantly more conviction.

Breathing out, Emma could see Gold was not going to give it up, and so there was really no point in continuing to argue. She would just have to hope for the best.

"Lilith. Vampire queen." Wrinkling her nose at the thought of what Gold could possibly want that would be worse than having to face her ex, Emma huffed out as an afterthought. "Can't you just come up with a price now? Having another owed favor lingering over my head.."

"Lilith..." Gold dragged out the name and didn't bother putting on a show of pretending as if he didn't know who that was. "Going at this alone, are you?" he continued, choosing to ignore Emma's plea for a deal done and settled.

"Not..exactly. Regina is just stubborn." Gold didn't need to know that Regina had basically banished Emma from her presence. Though, being the man that he is, he probably already knew and just chose to enjoy making Emma say it.

"Regina..." Gold dragged out the name much like he had a moment ago with Lilith's. Now Emma had suddenly caught his interest. His gaze was far off, just for a minute, before he was back in the present and looking at the Sheriff intently. "And just what is it that she wants to do with this creature?"

The heat in Emma's face when she thought of Regina wishing for a /pet/ had to have been obvious.

"She wants..a companion?" The memory of the royal declaring that she didn't want just that was still fresh in Emma's mind, but she didn't think she could take it if Gold were to make some sort of lecherous comment. Even watching Belle all close and cuddly with him was enough to nearly trigger the gag reflex.

"I do believe we've found a deal to strike", he smirked, already gathering his cane and standing from the chair to signify their conversation was coming to an end. "You come by my shop when you're through here, and we'll get you what you need", he announced as he turned and began to take a slow walk out of the station.

Wondering what she'd just gotten herself into, Emma still couldn't help but feel triumphant. Only two more hours until the end of her shift and then the Sheriff could get to Gold's shop and get just what Regina had been trying to find. Fishing her phone out of the drawer where she had tossed it, Emma was unsurprised at the lack of any messages. Her spirits were fairly high as she tapped out a message to the brunette.

-_I have a way to find Lilith.-_

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_-I have a way to find Lilith-_

Upon reading Emma's text, Regina could have killed her. Really, truly killed her. The woman had to take a moment and rub her temples, to tell herself that the idiot - Emma - was just trying to help her despite the amount of times she'd said she didn't need nor want it. Once more, Regina picked up her phone and attempted to speak to what felt like a brick wall. It's just another ploy, she told herself. An attempt to get the okay to come along. There's no way in hell Emma could have gone out and found a way to do this on her own.

_And I've told you a million times, Emma Swan, I'm going at this alone._

The response was surprising, but Emma was far from giving up. It was almost funny by this point how Regina thought saying no would make the blonde stop.

_-Well, Regina Mills, then you are going to take forever and Henry will miss you. But I have a spell.-_ 'I almost have a spell', Emma corrected herself mentally, and using Henry was a low blow, but Regina wasn't giving in. What was Emma supposed to do?

Emma's response was worrying, and it created an anxiousness in the pit of Regina's stomach that left her feeling uneasy.

_You can't even spell your name in mid-air with your own magic, Emma. You don't have a spell. Give it up._

_-You think I'm bluffing? Just wait to leave until after my shift and I'll come over there and prove I mean business.-_

At least that would stall Regina long enough to give Emma the chance to go get the spell from Gold. God willing she actually listened.

_Don't waste your time_. It was all Regina offered in response, though the way Emma had managed to come at this from a different direction out of the blue was curious, and it had got Regina's attention. Surely, this couldn't be good, and already the brunette was kicking herself for this sense of obligation to get Emma out of whatever she'd managed to get into, after all the times she'd done the same for her.

_-I don't plan to. I'll be there after my shift-_ Emma was just a little proud of her sass in the last message, which nicely dulled the nerves that picked at her over making a deal with Gold. Another one. He could steal her damn soul with this. Why was she trying so hard to help Regina?

Regina noticed the answering text but didn't bother to reply. She wasn't quite sure what Emma was up to and there was a big part of her that didn't want to know, but the other part knew that nobody else would be able to talk the bullheaded blonde out of this..whatever it was. All she could do was bury herself in the literature sitting in her lap and wait to see whatever it was Emma thought she had discovered.

The Sheriff could have left early, but she worked faithfully through the rest of her shift and then briefed David on all the nothing that had been going on, avoiding mentioning the trip and her new deal. Emma's fingers were twitchy as she walked to Gold's shop, as though even they could sense how stupid and reckless she was preparing to be. Shut up, Emma, you get enough abuse from Regina to be doing it to yourself.

"Hello?" Emma called out as she entered the shop, the little ding of a bell a strangely ominous sound in her ears.

Gold was waiting for Emma in the back room, though he hesitated before walking through to end up behind the counter if only for the added effect.

"Well, well. Miss Swan. I was a little unsure if you'd show, dearie." He smirked, his hands clasped together behind his back. "Now, you can have the key to finding Lilith, but as you know…this comes with a price. I have everything you need to track her, to find her. Whether you possess the strength and the ability to successfully capture her is still unknown, though I'm sure a vampire holds nothing against the Savious." Gold set a small scroll on the counter, right in the middle, before glancing back up at Emma. "Though, when you've captured the vampire…she'll be rightfully mine. That is the requirement for my services." A wide and daunting smirk spread across his lips. "Do we have a deal?"

Emma's hand froze mid air where she had gone to grab the scroll quickly, a deep frown forming as she considered what Gold proposed. His. That was definitely not what Regina had wanted to hunt her down for, not even a little. If Gold were to obtain such a powerful ally.. The thought made Emma shiver. She would much rather Regina have Lilith. At least with the brunette, Emma could be certain that she wouldn't do anything to hurt Henry.

"That's not going to work and you know it. That's not the point of hunting her down."

Gold simply chuckled. "If I'm not mistaken, it is I that has something you want, Miss Swan. And in giving you this item, you'll soon be in possession of something /I/ want. Those are the conditions."

Emma's eyes flickered between Gold and the scroll and she really tried to think. Death by vampire, or death by Regina once she found out how they had found the vampire? Neither sounded pleasant, but staying home wasn't an option and she knew who she was more scared of. Trying not to groan aloud, Emma gave it one more go.

"There's /nothing/ else, just the vampire? I couldn't just owe you a favor again that doesn't relate to trading off something that will make Regina kill me?"

A click of his tongue in disapproval was Gold's reply, though he smiled the entire time. "Now, Miss Swan, I don't believe you're in the position to be trying to change the conditions here. You are the one that needs my help, need I remind you. I could always...", he hesitated, extending a hand to put the scroll in his palm, "..find her myself."

Snatching the scroll out from under his palm, Emma glared firmly as a sort of sign of her acceptance. This was a death wish in more ways than one and she just knew that this would end her somehow.

"Fine, fine. I guess I don't have any other choice." Clutching the scroll, Emma nodded and refused to say thank you to the man that was screwing her over, turning to leave with a new weight in her stomach.

The fact that the woman had grabbed the surprised Gold, but he pulled his hand away as Emma agreed to the arrangement he'd come up with. Giving a simple bow of his head, he stepped back from the counter. "As you wish." His voice was quiet, the bow of his head hiding the smirk that had grown. All that was left for him to do was wait, and that was something he'd gotten quite accustomed to.

Nearly stomping from the shop, the blonde finally let out the growl once she was outdoors. Fear and anger were a bitter mix, but right then Emma still couldn't deal with it. She didn't have the time. Jogging all the way from Gold's shop to the station had her winded, but she was plenty gathered enough to drive from the station to Regina's house, scroll in her lap. She wasn't risking /anything/ happening to something so valuable.

Pulling into Regina's driveway, Emma thanked god when she spotted the car still there. She thought that the stubborn brunette might have left already despite Emma's confidence that she had something for her. Stepping quickly from the car and up the walkway, Emma ignored the doorbell and knocked loudly.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_Stepping quickly from the car and up the walkway, Emma ignored the doorbell and knocked loudly._

The former Queen had been waiting since she had received Emma's message, but a few glasses of cider had been keeping her company and she was well on her way through tipsy and into drunk when she heard the knock on the door. Opening it, she held it and invited the blonde in with a gesture.

"Miss Swan."

The wafting smell of apples and alcohol was a little surprising, but Emma couldn't stop hoping it would make her a little easier to deal with. Holding up the scroll, the blonde waved it a little as she entered, correcting Regina, "/Emma/."

Regina recognized the scroll. She'd dealt with Gold, The Dark One, many times. Enough to know.. "What..", she breathed, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of her. "What have you done?"

Ignoring the other woman's horror, Emma waved a hand to completely brush it off. "Don't thank me yet. Anyway, this will help us find her at the very least."

"Emma Swan, what have you done?" Regina asked again, trying to keep the horror out of her voice at the thought that the blonde had done something as irreversible as making a deal with Gold.

"I've got you what you wanted! What does it matter how?" The other woman's negative reaction was only driving it home what sort of deal with the devil Emma had committed to.

"Because I know where that came from!" Regina eyed the scroll, refusing to take a hold of it. "Are you not aware of the deal I made with him to get to this town?! They don't call him the Dark One for nothing!"

In that moment, Emma thought that the woman was probably right, and seeing as the deal meant that she would lose her prize anyway, the blonde dropped her hand. "Fine. Whatever. I just wanted to help." Thoroughly discouraged, the Sheriff put forth her best effort not to show it. "I guess you'll be off to who knows where for god only knows how long now, right?"

It annoyed Regina more than anything that Emma didn't seem to understand the severity of what she'd done. Slamming the door with much more force than was necessary, the royal turned on her heel to look at the blonde with nothing but absolute anger and frustration. "Undo this. You take that..", she pointed at the scroll, "..back to where you got it, immediately."

Emma had seen the slammed door coming, so it didn't alarm her nearly as much as the vehement tone in the other woman's voice. Even faced with that however, she felt strangely like Gold as she tried to strike a deal. "I'll return it only if you let me come with you."

"Making a deal is what got you into this in the first place!" Regina shouted, unable to contain herself with the imminent threat of the Dark One looming like a bad storm. "What did you agree to, Emma? What was it this time?" Demanding, the brunette folded her arms across her chest like some sort of protection from whatever was coming their way. "Are you not aware of who you just made a deal with? Of the threat you've not only put on /us/, but our son!?"

Our son. I'm included again, Emma thought idly. That's nice. Focusing back on making words, the woman's face screwed up. "Hey, if you had just told me what bugged you before, I wouldn't have upset you and you wouldn't have tried to /banish/ me from this trip in the first place and I wouldn't have thought of going to Gold!"

"Stop acting like such a child!", she closed her eyes and shook her head during her exclamation, Emma's explanation of why she had to do this sounding like something Henry would say. "You could have just /accepted/ it! I left /no/ room for negotiation. I am /not/ the Dark One. I do /not/ run on binding deals. You better hope you have luck on your side, Emma. His deals are final. And I refuse to allow you to blame me. This is...", she trailed off, absolutely furious at the idea that Emma had done this because of her, because of some twisted logic in her mind. "You are an absolute idiot."

"Stop trying to /dismiss/ me!" It was the first eighteen years of her life all over again and she couldn't stand it. Dismissed, tossed aside, unnecessary, and Emma wouldn't let Regina make her feel like that again. "Do you really think I'm just going to see you off and say 'good luck' when you say you're going to do something so dangerous?! We share a /kid/, Regina! You don't /need/ to go make some undead thing your /pet/, you /want/ to! And you know what? /You're/ the idiot!" Emma worked herself up as she yelled, not accepting any of the abuse.

"What I do is none of your business /Miss Swan/. And while you might think we share a son, we don't. I am the one that cared for him for ten years, while you ran. And I refuse to let you drag me into yet another one of your messes. I'm still trying to clean up the mess you've made out of the relationship I /had/ with my son after you strolled into this town as if you had any /right/." Regina ranted, losing herself in her anger for the first time in what felt like forever. And here, in this moment, it felt good. It felt right. This is what the woman was used to. This was where she was comfortable. As always, pushing people away at any and all costs. "I can handle myself just fine, and seeing as my son currently wants nothing to do with me thanks to you and your pathetic parents, yes. I'm going to chase after something /I/ want. Now, see yourself out and take care of this goddamned disaster you've managed to create in the past few hours."

"/He/ found /me/! You keep conveniently forgetting that! And if I am so terrible, why are you so eager to go and possibly get yourself killed, leaving him with me?! You make no sense and you drive me crazy!" Crossing her arms in a fashion that made it clear that she was not leaving, the expression Emma adopted felt just as angry as Regina looked.

"You go and you fix this!", shouted Regina, allowing her anger to take control and cause her to spur forward with a hand extended, only to push Emma back into the door. "You go and you fix this right now you goddamn idiot! You've just made a deal with the devil, Emma. And I won't have any part of it."

It was an instant reaction when Regina pushed her back, despite what happened last time. Reaching towards her, Emma gripped at the brunette's shoulders and flipped them so her back was to the door rather than Emma's.

"Would you /stop/ calling me an idiot, damnit! And you think I don't know what I did?! You mean something to Henry, so keeping you safe /matters/! Understand?!"

"Yes, well, the difference between you and I happens to be that I am an /adult/ and can take care of myself." Regina managed through her panting, her voice now steady and quiet. There was no point in fighting with the blonde like this, she realized, no matter how much she wanted to hit and shake her until there's been some sense knocked into her thick skull.

The short barking laugh that jumped from Emma as she pressed the other woman harder into the door was bitter and though she'd quieted, her anger still wouldn't cool.

"Take care of yourself? You mean with your huge house and your fortune and the town you run? Yeah, that's difficult." Emma was reminded of running from cops because she stole noodles when she had no money left for food. Even if Regina had been middle class, the blonde might have had more control over her anger at her, but no, Regina had to be the best. While she had slept and lived and worked in this mini paradise, Emma fought for every day of her life, for every ounce of anything good. Letting her gaze pierce Regina, Emma had found her anger cooled to an icy hardness. The other woman affected Emma more than she'd care to admit.

"Need I remind you /Gold/ is the one that managed the particulars of this curse, /Emma/. It wasn't me. You can take your jealousy somewhere else. We all have to deal with the cards we've been handed in life. We all have our own demons, and just because I might be dealing with mine in a pretty mansion with lots of money doesn't lessen the issue." She pointed this out, looking at Emma through a narrowed gaze. "Take the mansion." The corners of Regina's mouth turn up into a sneer. "I won't be needing it for a while come tomorrow, anyway."

Growling in the back of her throat, it took conscious effort not to let one hand lift to the brunette's neck and choke the words out of her. Frustration and a fair amount of bitterness were still coloring Emma's speech.

"That's not the /point/. The /point/ is that you aren't going alone evin if I have to cuff you to me." Thinking, Emma knew she'd have to try and put this in language that Regina was more familiar with. Sure, she'd lived here now, but this wasn't where the former queen had grown up. Emma was the Saviour, she should be able to figure out things like this. "Didn't you normally go places with servants and bodyguards and soldiers and things? Even here you had Sydney and pretty much everyone else bending over backwards to do what you say. How is it going to be when you look around for back up and there isn't any?"

"How many times, in how many different ways, must I remind you that I have magic? That she is no longer a woman of status, but one that hides in the shadows and takes whatever scraps are left behind?" Regina could hardly believe she was about to go on another useless endeavor to make Emma understand. "This is not your adventure. I am not your responsibility. Stay in my mansion, take care of Henry, but you, Miss Swan, are not coming with me. You barely understand this world. I don't expect you'd do much better in the one I'll soon be visiting."

Finally dropping her hands from the other woman, Emma's fingers twitched at her sides when she did. Regina needed to be choked, needed to be silenced. But damn if Emma's head wasn't pounding and making it difficult to think suddenly. Emma couldn't help but think her new friendship with the wall caught up with her in the last moments of anger and she didn't realize it.

"I get it, okay? I get that she's not some super bad ass like you, but what if that's just a ploy? It's not like animals don't know how to play possum, what if that's what she does and when you're not expecting it, she just lashes out? Wouldn't it be a little better to have someone, if not fighting for you, at least watching your back?"

The world shifted a little, but Emma kept her eyes steadfastly fixed on Regina, simultaneously attempting to pin her to the door and imploring the woman to listen.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_The world shifted a little, but Emma kept her eyes steadfastly fixed on Regina, simultaneously attempting to pin her to the door and imploring the woman to listen._

"You know what?" Regina resigned, leaning forward to get in Emma's face. "If it will shut you up, I won't even go. Give Gold the scroll back, forget about all of this." The frustrated queen was willing to tell Emma whatever she wanted at this point, if it meant that she'd leave her alone.

Giving Gold the scroll back sounded like a wonderful idea, and one that the blonde would likely follow through on shortly, but Regina giving up was suspicious.

"I don't believe you." Not backing down, the woman stayed right where she was with narrowed eyes. With Regina saying she wouldn't go, Emma was immediately less confrontational, and the knot in her stomach had lessened, but still, the brunette had never seemed like the type to give in because someone bothered her. "Come with me to bring it back so I know you won't sneak out. Please." Emma added the word as an afterthought, not wanting to seem as entirely boorish as she was finding herself at the moment.

Frowning at the way Emma had chosen to ask her to come along, Regina reminded herself of who she was. The Evil Queen. Trust the Evil Queen? Emma shouldn't. Rightfully so. But that didn't help the offense she felt, whether or not the statement that Regina was not going to go was or was not true.

"I'm an adult. /We/ are adults. I'm not going to let you babysit me just because you're insecure. Take the scroll back before it's too late."

Emma hadn't thought it would be a big deal for Regina to go with her, but apparently it was a problem. Fine, she thought, she could play this game. Pretending was something she'd been good at for quite a while. Taking half a step back, the blonde let herself stumble slightly and leaned forward again, one hand next to Regina's shoulder on the door to steady herself and the other on her own head. Eyes shut, Emma nodded lightly, not overplaying it, just the letting the spots in her vision cloud her a bit more than just a moment ago.

"Alright. I'll bring it, but I need you to come with so I can get to the hospital afterwards. I sort of met a wall earlier and I think I have a concussion." Emma let a bit of humour leak through to take away any hint of accusation. She /had/ provoked the brunette, so she could let the injury go.

" I fail to see how I'm obligated to do much of anything for you. Let's see... you...", Regina paused to push her hand against Emma's chest to increase the distance between them, "..you finished your day's work, stopped by Gold's to make an idiotic deal, and showed up at my house only to shove me against a wall and scream in my face. Suddenly you're not coherent enough to drive yourself through town to stop at Gold's and transport yourself to the hospital?"

"You threw me against a wall, with magic, and it was brick. Does it really matter what else has happened? I'd rather not go to sleep and not wake up." Emma spoke dryly, realizing she had pretended less than she intended, the black spots were really there more than earlier. Actually stumbling this time, the blonde regained her balance a step away from the other woman, shrugging with one shoulder. "And to be honest, I can drive to Gold's, but I'm not sure how happy he'll be with me returning this, and I don't know how able I will be to argue with him and then get to the doctor before I pass out." She was kicking herself, she knew she should have gone to the doctor earlier when she first saw the black spots.

"I did that by accident", Regina admitted as Emma was so quick to blame her, as if the brunette had consciously conjured the magic to harm her. "If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't rely on my magic." And that was the truth. Even though it was an accident, Regina refused to be held accountable. To care. "As for the mess with Gold... it's /yours/ to fix, Miss Swan."

"That, I believe." Not for the first time, the woman's sass makes Emma have to work to suppress a grin, shifting from one foot to the other. And Regina /was/ right, Emma /did/ seek Gold out all by herself, no matter that he knew the blonde was looking to make a deal before she even did. "How about you come to the doctor with me first, then I'll go deal with Gold myself." Emma thought it sounded fair, and with the weird air between the women at the moment, she was reluctant to just leave.

Perhaps another person would find the Sheriff's persistence endearing, though Regina seemed to only come up with annoyance, and she rolled her eyes at Emma's suggestion that the brunette accompany her to the hospital. "I fail to see how you need someone to accompany you to the hospital. If you need someone, I'll gladly go through your phone and find your mother's number." She held out her hand for Emma's device.

Wrinkling her nose, Emma shook her head, an action followed instantly with a dizzy sensation that lingered longer than it should have.

"I'd rather walk." Feeling like she to explain herself, at the same time she also didn't exactly want to give up the details about the buzzing worry her mother would give off and how it would be more tiring than helpful.

"I don't need to be smothered, just need to make sure I don't pass out on the way." Which, Emma told herself, is why she asked Regina. Not because the brunette was the one who injured her and certainly not because she would care, but more because she wouldn't. It's what Emma was used to, and she needed the familiarity of someone impassive to whether she was hurt or not.

"You will not talk the entire time. If you breathe loudly, I'll leave you lying on the goddamned pavement in the parking lot of the hospital and drive away." Regina lectured through a clenched jaw and gritted teeth. This is only to get you to shut up, she told herself, to get it done and over with so she could go back to her peaceful, if lonely, life.

The grin escaped, but instead of answering, Emma motioned as if zipping her lips and locking them before throwing the key over her shoulder. If this was what it took to get Regina to stay in her company, then she could handle some moments of silence. Again, the dizzy sensation washed over her, lasting longer this time than the last. Well, this was just in the nick of time.

"You're mistaken if you think we're taking that death trap that you call a car", the woman pointed out, already pushing herself from the door, licking at her lips. She'd had a few to drink, that much was true, but Regina assured herself as she moved towards her study to gather her things that her own driving was safer than driving in Emma's car. She grabbed her purse and turned out the lamp that was illuminating the room before returning to the foyer to shrug on her coat. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll make this quick. Let's go."

Following Regina to the door, not resisting a scowling pout when she took a shot at the blonde's car, Emma paused as moving close to the woman again reminded her of the alcohol. Emma should say something. She was the Sheriff, damnit. She should ticket the brunette for drunk driving, not be getting a ride from her.

"Uh, Regina? Maybe we should walk." Emma glanced half back to where she knew the decanter holding Regina's cider was kept, and no matter the threat against talking, Emma would rather not get to the hospital in worse shape. An idea lit up her foggy brain then, something she was surprised that neither of them had thought of. "Or maybe you could just..fix me?"

Emma surprised herself with trusting the other woman to use magic on her brain, but if she ended up with scrambled eggs for brains, it's not like it wouldn't be obvious who did it.

The royal's first instinct was to reject anything the blonde had suggested as she'd been doing all day. Regina opened her mouth to protest but closed it again as the wheels started turning in her mind. This could be quick and painless, instead of dragging it out for a trip to the hospital that's staffed with 'professionals' that got their PhD from nothing but magic. No people, no machines. And she'd have the woman out of her hair a hell of a lot sooner.

"Go lie on the couch." Regina's voice was soft and low as she threw a glance to the living room before moving to take off her coat and set her purse down.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

"_Go lie on the couch." Regina's voice was soft and low as she threw a glance to the living room before moving to take off her coat and set her purse down._

Making a half sound of protest, Emma hesitated. Couldn't Regina just point and fix her? Then again, if the blonde actually said so, it was probably just a good way to get Regina to call her an idiot again and at this moment Emma was far from strong enough to argue. Peeling her jacket off as well, the Sheriff hung it on the rack and walked into the study.

As Emma laid down on the couch, head propped up on one of the armrests, she was reminded of the very first time she was in this house, sitting on this very couch and having every intention of leaving quickly. But Regina captured her interest and had continued to do so since then. Contrary to popular belief that Emma happily upheld, Henry was only half the reason she stayed any longer than that one night.

"How does this work?"

"Mm, what did I tell you about talking?" Regina warned as she moved to the decanter sitting in the corner of the room and topped off the glass she was currently working on. Picking it up as she walked over to the couch Emma had settled on, the brunette dropped to her knees as she took a long pull of the liquid. "You stay very, very quiet the entire time. You allow me to work. And then you leave. Without a word", Regina explained, setting the glass on the small coffee table she was kneeling next to. "Close your eyes."

Emma's gaze flickered again to the decanter as Regina poured, sensing the she was on the edge of..something. More than likely throwing the blonde out on her ass. Despite not liking being told what to do, Emma behaved herself, not making any more noise beyond the small puff of air she released in meek rebellion. With Regina just beside her, it reminded Emma how dangerous small packages could be, a thought that made the corner of her mouth turn up as she closed her eyes. The black spots were taking over almost completely now that the woman had laid down and stopped fighting, leaving her thankful for Regina being near, a rarity.

If she was going to be honest, at least with herself, Regina wasn't entirely sure that she possessed the strength to complete this kind of task. However, regardless of how much sense this logic holds, the brunette would rather pass out trying than endure a hospital trip with Emma after the hoops she had given Regina no choice but to jump through today. She was thankful for the silence as she reached out with a shaking left hand to rest it upon the blonde's forehead, the other settling on her abdomen where her ribs meet.

"Take a deep breath. Hold it for a second. Let it out. And don't stop until I tell you", Regina's voice had dropped to a whisper, closing her own eyes to focus on the task at hand while applying a bit of pressure to Emma's abdomen.

It felt supremely surreal to be laying on Regina's couch with the woman touching her as if they were friendly. They were, weren't they? She hoped they were. Or else some built up animosity could make it easy for the woman to kill Emma where she lay rather than help. Was it unfair to ask the woman to help? The blonde didn't really think so, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it now.

Taking a deep breath with her diaphragm like she learned in track, one of the few sports Emma hated growing up, she kept it in as evenly as she could and then breathed out slowly so she could keep it up until Regina said stop. It was actually relaxing.

The unfortunate thing about the process was that it only works if the caster truly wanted it to. If she cared. Regina was thankful that the other woman knew nothing of this, about magic and healing, else she was sure the blonde would get some satisfaction out of this..if it worked. She waited a minute before she began to focus, bringing her breathing so it was in sync with Emma's. And when she focused her energy into the blonde, Regina concentrated on all the times that the blonde could have let her die, but she didn't. Focusing on each and every time Emma had saved her life, and especially on those vital words she'd spoken to her after those very instances and the look in Emma's eye during that moment of total vulnerability. It's what fueled Regina and it's what allowed her magic to begin flowing into the other woman. It started as just a simple tingle in her chest, but soon the warmth was spreading down her arms, into her hands, and thus into Emma.

Regina's hands felt even warmer than the magic and it seemed odd, the cool tingling flowing into Emma's limbs and raising goosebumps across her flesh. As she breathed, she could feel the magic and also Regina's hands on her face and stomach. The magic felt almost like popping just on the inside of her skin, causing a shiver as it started to clear away the fuzz in her head. Emma wanted to ask if it was normal to feel like that, to have the strange magnetic impulse to tilt her head towards the darker woman. But Regina had said to be very quiet, and so Emma holds to that. It was magic and therefore bound to be unpredictable.

As the magic flowed out of Regina and into Emma, the brunette felt her energy drain. Keeping her slow breathing in line with Emma's, she hoped it would serve to calm her rapidly beating heart and leave her conscious. The hand that was resting on the blonde's forehead slid to rest on the top of her head, while her thumb absent mindedly strokes light brushed along the spot it had just left. Regina stayed like that for long moments, until she felt Emma's body lessen in the way it drew her magic in. Slowly Regina came out of it, eyes fluttering open once more and looking down at Emma, though she didn't move her hand.

"Is there any difference in the way you feel?"

Emma could almost have fallen asleep with how content she felt, like she'd had a hot bath and a good meal all at once. Her limbs were heavy, as were her eyelids when she opened them to look at Regina in reaction to her voice. It took a second for her ability to speak to return, with the way the brunette's hands felt, Emma just wanted to lay there and smile. It was then that reality started to slide in again, right as the blonde was making note of how Regina looked almost gentle, like she cared if Emma was okay. The blonde's face felt even warmer as she opened and closed her mouth a few times before she found words.

"Perfect. Uh, I feel perfect. You have some magic hands there. Literally." Laughing weakly at her own equally weak joke, Emma was still hesitant to move with Regina's hands still on her, though one of her own hands had come up automatically to rest over the dark woman's hand on her stomach when she spoke. "Am I fixed then?"

Surprisingly, Emma's gaze wasn't enough to jolt Regina out of the contact they were still sharing. Neither were the blonde's words, though she didn't show much of a reaction to the joke, despite how badly Regina wanted to roll her eyes. But she had done it, she healed the woman and the simple fact that she was able to do so speaks volumes. It was only when Emma's hand covered her own that Regina jumped from the unexpected move and pulled her hands away, moving to stand back on her feet again. "Then you're free to go", the woman pointed out, her face expressionless. "And clean up the mess you've made with Gold."

Emma's eyes closed again as she let out a final breath before sitting back up. No black spots, and only a little dizziness that she chose to assume was caused by getting up a little too quickly. With a smile that was infinitely more calm than she was just a few minutes ago, the blonde strode towards the rack and pulled her jacket down.

"You got it", Emma agreed almost merrily, sliding the leather onto her arms. That magic had really done wonders. "And you won't go after a crazy vampire alone while I'm gone..right?"

And here we go with the doubting again. Regina folded her arms across her chest as she turned to watch Emma prepare to leave, silently thanking the gods that this time had finally come.

"Right, Miss Swan." Regina huffed, though her words were far from true.

Emma still didn't quite believe the woman, but she did sort of have Emma's life in her hands just a second ago, so she let it go, fastening her jacket up the front.

"/Emma/", the blonde corrected, though she knew it wouldn't really do any good. Shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, Emma spoke casually. "Alright. If you say so, I'll trust you. Henry's been missing you, even if he's too tough of a kid to admit it. Maybe you could join us for lunch at Granny's tomorrow?" It's true, but it's also the perfect way to maybe get Regina to be nice to her for longer than a few minutes, not to mention it would stall her.

Regina took note that Emma sure knew how to play this game. Regardless of whether or not Emma truly trusted her, Regina paused and something inside of her ached at the prospect of seeing Henry, if only for a few hours. So, the trip was postponed for another day. At least she would get to say goodbye, Regina reasoned. "If Henry would like to have lunch with me, I'll gladly do so", the woman answered, not wanting to sound too eager. "Perhaps you can run it by him and let me know once you've finished your business with Gold."

Pleased with herself, Emma nodded once with a smile, picking up the scroll from where she had dropped it in their skirmish. "I'll text you later then, alright?" Before any more trouble started, Emma turned away and opened the door. If she could keep them being this sort of friendly, maybe she would have a chance at keeping Regina here.

The former Queen wasn't interested in friendship, something she'd distanced herself from in order to protect herself, but she had had enough of arguing in circles with Emma today. Instead of replying, she remained silent until she heard the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief. She could only hope that Gold would take back the foolish deal that Emma had made with him, and that he didn't know much of anything about what Regina was after. Though, knowing Emma, that was a fairly hollow hope.

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Share with me.**


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT blah blah blah

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

_She could only hope that Gold would take back the foolish deal that Emma had made with him, and that he didn't know much of anything about what Regina was after. Though, knowing Emma, that was a fairly hollow hope._

Letting out a short and relived puff of air on Regina's porch, Emma hopped almost cheerfully down the stairs and slid into her car. However, her mood dropped when she pulled out of the driveway, aiming for Gold's shop. This wouldn't be pleasant. But then again.. Emma had never actually used the scroll, so she wasn't exactly breaking a deal, just not using it.

Parking next to the shop, Emma fortified herself with thoughts of sword fighting a dragon and helping Regina break two curses. She could take on one man, no matter how magical and dangerous this one particular man was. Come on, Emma.

Entering the shop to the tune of the ominous little bell again, Emma strode confidently up to the counter and set the scroll gently down as if it would explode with rough treatment.

"Miss Swan." Gold announced from behind the counter, and it almost seemed as if he hadn't even looked up from the shelf he was organizing from behind the counter. And he didn't bother to turn around even as Emma approached the counter. He simply continued his work, his back to the blonde to hide the grin that's etched across his features. "Come to boast of your success so soon?"

It was slightly irking the way the man wouldn't turn to face her, but Emma learned awhile back that there was really nothing she could do about his irritating quirks. Not touching the scroll again, Emma gave a shake of her head before thinking of the fact that Gold wasn't looking.

"I need to return this. I won't be needing it after all."

"I do believe, even after all this time, you've failed to notice the sign on my window coming into this shop." His voice was calm, cool, and collected like always. He sets the final item on the shelf and turns around, displaying a smile that doesn't seem so genuine. "All sales are final."

"You have to take it back. I'm not going to use it." The logic seemed simple to Emma. Frowning with just as much confusion as worry, she inwardly refused to take the scroll back. The blonde -really- didn't want to have to tell Regina that she had trapped herself into being some sort of vampire hunter for Gold.

"Then, I'm afraid, I can't let you leave." In a flash, Gold appeared in front of the shop door before Emma could even lay a finger on the doorknob. "We made a deal, Miss Swan. And, as you know, I don't take such a thing lightly. You will do this... or you will pay with your life."

Emma's heartbeat quickened considerably between the sudden appearance and now the outright threat. Taking a step backwards from the man with his frightening cane, Emma lifted her chin and spoke in a tone that she hoped sounded braver than she felt. "And you think people here would just let you get away with killing me?"

"I don't believe I ever said anything about killing you, Miss Swan. Though, I can assure you, that if you decide against making good on our deal, you'll be wishing for it." Gold smirked, taking another small step closer.

Less sure now than before, Emma still couldn't be certain that this wasn't a bluff. Though if she was being honest with herself then she didn't really think it was a bluff, but facing Regina and telling her that I promised to turn over /her/ prize to /him/..it still sounded fairly terrifying. "Wh..what about a different deal? Couldn't I just find something else?" It was a small hope, but hope nonetheless.

"And what is it you think you have to offer me that I'd want, /Saviour/", Gold spat, Emma's title sounding much more like an insult now that his patience was beginning to grow thin.

This man was swiftly deteriorating into the monster and it made Emma feel like a small child facing the boogie man. "Uh.." The blonde had a bad habit of forgetting how to form words when true fear trickled in and it was making itself very known as she glanced at the door, so close and yet so far. "I could just owe you a favor again?"

"You do understand there's no room for negotiation. The next time that I ask you to do something, there isn't going to be any room for discussion. You'll do as I ask and there will be nothing you can do... Do we have an agreement?"

"Fine." At least Emma knew she could count on Regina to keep the town safe from her if Gold decided to make her do something dangerous. "Now let me leave." Though owing a favor to the man wasn't necessarily a /good/ idea, it seemed to be the lesser of two evils in this situation.

Gold laughed, and this time, it was at Emma's naivety. He bowed his head as he clutched his cane right in front of him, and truly laughed. Though it was breathy and short lived, it was one of true amusement and enjoyment. "Oh no, Miss Swan. I do believe we have a deal to make."

Swallowing dryly, Emma froze in place. She was utterly terrified, seeing as Gold had apparently already decided what he wanted from her. "And what is it you want then?"

It was obvious that Gold was pleased that Emma had played into the palm of his hand. He took his time walking back behind the counter, turning his back to the woman only to retrieve a small, wooden box. "Well, it's simple, really. What I'm after, Miss Swan, is her heart."

"Wh-..that.." Still words were failing the blonde, and now for an entirely different reason. He couldn't be serious. "You can't mean that. Do you realize how impossible that is?" Not to mention, the last thing Emma wanted to do was try to get that close. Not only would Emma be betraying the former Queen, but Henry as well.

"If there's one person that can manage the impossible, I do believe it's you, dearie." Gold pointed out with a tap of his cane on the floor. "It's been hidden for many years, and I don't believe the woman herself even knows where it is. But I can assure you, I am very serious. This is not something you'll be getting out of."

FIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFIFI

**Thoughts? Flames? Ideas? Share with me.**


End file.
